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A Blog from CBL Data Recovery
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Categories
business | case studies | data loss prevention | data recovery | events | helpful hints | success stories
#1s and 0s
Can you trust data recovery service providers?
17 January 2012
The worst has happened: the computer or server with your confidential and time-sensitive data has crashed. Panic starts to set in, and a quick call or visit to your IT support confirms that this issue is beyond the scope of your help desk’s services. It’s time to call in a data recovery provider. IT support probably already has a provider in mind. But what exactly are they going to do with your data? How can you trust them?
Driveageddon latest in mounting problems resulting from Thailand Floods
10 November 2011
This year’s monsoon season in Thailand has had a massive impact on the nation’s manufacturing capability, and has affected the global hard drive market. The effects of ‘driveageddon’ are likely to be felt for many months to come. By early October, the Rojna industrial estate, home to major production giants like Honda, Pioneer, Hitatchi and Nikon, had been flooded, rendering the entire area non-operational.
CBL Pictures: Submerged
24 August 2011
You wouldn’t expect this situation to come up, but then again, most (many?) data loss disasters aren’t expected. We see natural disasters involving tornadoes, fires, earthquakes, heavy storms and the resulting water-damaged hard drives, burnt computers, and power-outage crashed hard disks….. but it’s the odd ones that come along every so often that get us.
Air France Black Box Data Recovery After Being Buried At Sea: Data is Resilient
16 May 2011
French investigators reported Monday that crucial data had been recovered and downloaded off airplane black boxes from an Air France jet that went down in the Atlantic two years ago. How the data was retrieved out of the black boxes is not only interesting but a great example of how data is resilient, something that CBL Data Recovery sees first-hand in recovery and forensics projects.
Data is Resilient: Severe Weather Storm Tips for Your Hard Drive
28 April 2011
In severe weather and storms, when it comes to data on digital devices – all may not be lost. Here are some of our best tips and recommendations for when the clean-up begins to save storm-damaged computers and get data recovered.
iPad Recovery: It's All about the State of the Tablet Data
24 February 2011
With millions of iPad tablets making their way into homes and offices around the world, and competing products running flavors of Windows and Android becoming more prevalent, the number of tablets in our labs for data recovery is increasing.
A Large Piece of Storage Technology History
22 February 2011
Do you know what this is being loaded onto a plane?
Data Recovery Myth Busting: Hard Drive Platters
17 November 2010
We come across misconceptions about what we do all the time.
Some keep coming up time and time again, and we thought that we better take charge and dispel some of the ideas out there.
CBL Pictures: Scraped Away
6 October 2010
How do you know you have left that software scan run for too long? Fullsize after the jump…
All We See Is The Code
27 September 2010
Unless you have experienced a hard drive failure, you may not be aware of the complexity how data is stored. A CBL data recovery expert sees a string of ones and zeroes organized in a perfect pattern otherwise known as your once-in-a-lifetime trip to Paris. It’s all about perspective.
Broken Server + CBL = Disaster Relief
12 May 2010
If you are an CIO you understand the importance of protecting corporate data. There is no magic formula for safeguarding vital information but certain steps can be taken. Many businesses have systems in place, backup redundancy, or hard drives upon hard drives — but how many are 100% confident those measures will hold up when the time comes?
CBL Pictures: Pieces of You
16 April 2010
When we got this drive by regular mail with little padding we were a little worried. Being able to hear pieces moving around freely within the hard drive is never a good sign.
Storage Solutions For The Home User
26 March 2010
HD videos, 12 megapixel cameras, digital music collections, oh my. The average home user now has more personal data than ever. Here’s a rundown of what solutions for large and reliable storage are available.
CBL Pictures: Just an Ordinary PCB
19 March 2010
Just an Ordinary PCB?
Find out more after the jump.
Data Recovery by the Sector
16 March 2010
Little known fact: “data recovery” occurs on a regular basis on every hard drive. It’s true. Whether you like to believe it or not, hard drives are not reliable on their own.
Strobeshnik hard drive clock
8 March 2010
We can definitely appreciate coming up with creative uses of old hard drives here at CBL.
Worrying About Your Data
18 August 2009
More and more computer users are becoming aware of a growing amount of data privacy issues around us. Protecting your personal data should be a top priority given the alarming increase in identity theft. This is leading people to worrying about what happens to their personal information and who’s hands it can fall into. CBL offers some tips and options for securely disposing of old storage devices.
Data Storage and Protection
22 July 2009
Millions of hard drives are purchased each year. Storage capabilities are growing at a phenomenal pace and so are user needs. While the cost per gigabyte falls, many companies fail to consider the rising cost of data protection. A 1 terabyte drive may cost a few hundred dollars, however the cost of maintaining the data stored on that drive may go well into the thousands.
E-Waste and Security Threats exposed by Frontline
24 June 2009
PBS Frontline aired a feature about the Digital Dumping Ground in Ghana where so-called e-waste is being dumped last night. The footage revealing, exposed not only the disastrous environmental and social impact the giant amounts of electronic equipment waste is having on Ghana, but also a further side-effect: the risk of unwiped data being discovered and used for criminal activity from discarded hard drives!
When Dad's Data Needs Recovering
12 June 2009
Okay. Has the search begun yet for a unique gift for your dad, stepfather, or grandfather for Father’s Day?
Does Daddy store his data on a Windows laptop, PC or server?
Does Father upload photographs of family vacations, birthday parties and other events from his digital camera to his...
Bits, Bytes and Blush
15 May 2009
Can data live to see another day after a laptop crashes to the ground?
CBL Pictures: Head Stack Assembly
24 April 2009
Here’s a picture of a head stack assembly removed from a hard drive. It was taken from a multi-platter drive during a recovery. So how do you remove the head stack from a hard drive? Very carefully.
DIY Essentials: The Hard Drive Enclosure
15 April 2009
Having the right tools can sometimes help you avoid a trip to the computer help desk. No need to visit a specialty store, this tool is available at most electronics stores: the hard drive enclosure.
Signs of a Hard Drive Failure
13 April 2009
Spotting the initial symptoms of a hard drive failure can often mean the difference between saving your data or losing it. Here are a few things to look out for.
Tax Returns, Tax Refunds, & Data Recovery
26 March 2009
Reduce the chance of identity theft. Wipe your drive,CBL Pictures: Shattered
23 March 2009
A hard drive with a platter completed shattered is generally not recoverable. Unfortunately this project did not have a chance from the very start.
Keep a Lid on IT
5 February 2009
...resist the temptation to tamper with or hand over the drive to anyone but a professional data recovery specialist…
Can you afford to be without your data?
14 January 2009
Hard drives don’t discriminate. Whether the economy is in a recession or a boom, no one is immune to data loss. It’s never a matter of IF data loss will happen; it’s simply a matter of WHEN.
His Day Without Data Was A Dark, Dark Day
20 November 2008
Data loss occurs more often than you would think. In fact, even individuals who pride themselves in their backup regimen can incur data loss. That external hard drive that they use for backups can be susceptible to data loss.
Such was the case for one CBL customer…
Humpty Couldn't, But Your Data Can Survive A Crash
20 November 2008
If Humpty Dumpty had been working on his laptop while he was sitting on the wall when he had his great fall, we know that all the King’s horses and all the King’s men couldn’t put Humpty together again. But what about data on his laptop? Could...
Holiday Gift Idea for the Tech Savvy Person on Your List
13 November 2008
Looking for a unique gift for the geek or nerd in your family?
At a loss as to what to buy a tech savvy friend this holiday season? You know the guy or gal who owns a couple of computers and is always being called upon to take...
Save Data. Dispel Data Recovery Myths.
29 October 2008
Data recovery is not simple or straightforward. Data loss can occur for numerous reasons. Just as numerous are misconceptions about the data recovery process.
Aftermath of Hurricane Ike - Data on Storm-Damaged Computers May Be Recoverable
15 September 2008
As residents of the Greater Houston Area begin the cleanup after Hurricane Ike’s devastation, consumers and business owners alike who discover storm- and water-damaged computers in their homes and offices should follow this advice.
If you have family or friends in the Houston area, let them know they can...
Protect Your Digital Assets If Hanna, Hurricane Ike or Josephine Are Headed Your Way
3 September 2008
As residents along the Atlantic coast stay alert and keep careful watch on weather reports and the progress of Tropical Storms Hanna, Hurricane Ike and Josephine, CBL Data Recovery reminds individuals to protect their digital assets.
Wipe Your Hard Drive, Not Your Brow
28 August 2008
It’s been reported by numerous news sources that UK Bank customers’ details sold for £35 on eBay.
While investigations into the matter continue, MailSource UK – an arm of Graphic Data is not the first organization—public, private or governmental—which has captured such headlines.
Last...
A Day Without Data is Like a Day Without Sunshine
22 August 2008
Floridians would agree that Fay’s departure is long overdue. Her visit to the Sunshine State has been accompanied by horrific gale-force winds and record rainfall. In fact, Bloomberg News reported in an article that Fay has dumped almost 30 inches (76 centimeters) of...
Data Loss Disasters Strike at Any Time. Do You Have an Emergency Data Recovery Plan?
21 August 2008
In the early hours of August 10, 2008, a horrific propane explosion occurred at a Sunrise Propane facility in the Toronto neighborhood of Downsview. Thousands of people evacuated the area. The majority of residents have since returned to their homes and the clean up and rebuilding of lives continues.
Back to School Advice for Parents (and Students with Laptops, too)
20 August 2008
In today’s world of e-gadgets, a new or used laptop or personal computer may also be on the Back-to-School shopping list.
Here’s some advice for parents.
Avoid Hazards Both On and Off the Course
8 August 2008
Without a good drive, your business could be handicapped, too. Your data could be held captive.
Strange Recoveries: Ant Attraction
15 May 2008
Occasionally CBL gets interesting projects. If you live in the Houston, TX area you may have heard the news of the unique ant problem some residents have been experiencing. It is believed that a species of ants usually found in the Caribbean and South America arrived...
5 Steps to Rapid Recovery When Your 5x9 RAID Fails
6 March 2008
RAIDs. Whether you call it a Redundant Array of Independent or Inexpensive Disks, one thing is for certain. Your organization is very dependent on your RAID and the data that is stored on its hard drives.
While hardware vendors or VARs sell customers on a RAID’s fault tolerance...
Compute While You Commute
7 February 2008
Laptops continue to populate our IT-landscape in growing numbers. The convenience that laptops afford us, the choice of applications available, and declining price are compelling reasons individuals and organizations are embracing laptops rather than their more sedimentary PC cousins. And, we cannot dismiss the growing trend of the...
Heads and Tales: CBL Rescues and Preserves Data for Environmentalists Committed to the Rescue and Preservation of the Costa Rican Rainforest.
31 January 2008
CBL Rescues and Preserves Data for Environmentalists Committed to the Rescue and Preservation of the Costa Rican Rainforest.
For individuals who have had the good fortune of traveling to one of the most bio-diverse and less explored regions which still remains on the planet, the Durika Biological Reserve of Costa...
Dangers of DIY Data Recovery
11 January 2008
Sometimes a little bit of knowledge can lead to bad things. Often we get calls from IT professionals who require data recovery services. As they explain the symptoms of the failure they proceed to explain what they have already attempted. This is when a $500 recovery can turn into...
Heads and Tales: For 24 hours, CBL is THE Hub
6 December 2007
For 24 hours, CBL is THE Hub.
Canada’s data recovery specialist comes to hubcanada.com’s rescue.
For small business owners, the end of the business day rarely finishes at five o’clock. In fact, taking work home to complete or review at the end of the day or on the weekend has...
When a backup drive is not a "backup"
28 November 2007
Many times we get customers who bring in their external drives just after a crash. Often the external drive is referred to as their “backup”.
“I copied all of my data to my backup and it failed …”
Well, what about your original data? You mean this was your only copy?...
Heads and Tales: Out of the Ashes
5 November 2007
Rare Music Files Rescued from Severely Damaged Hard Drive
In June 2007, vintage music store, M.C. Productions Vintage Recordings, in the City of Penticton in British Columbia’s beautiful Okanagan Valley was destroyed in a fire. Owner Mickey Clark lost all of the CDs he had compiled from his massive...
Don't Ignore The Warning Signs
10 October 2007
Does your PC crash on a regular basis? Do you get an error message before your desktop loads up? Have some of your programs become corrupted? These are some of the early warning signs that your hard drive is in bad health. Your PC might still be functioning but a...
Common Problems: The first steps to data recovery
18 September 2007
Missing a “system32” file? Accidentally damage a drive partition? Did you download a screensaver that turned out to be a virus? Plus you haven’t backed up data in 4 months. Now your boss’ computer won’t boot and you have a data disaster on your hands. Don’t panic, a data recovery solution is just steps away.
You can weather the storm, but can you weather data loss?
17 August 2007
You may know them as Andrea, Barry, Chantal, Dean, Erin or Flossie. No, they’re not the finalists on the popular television programs “So You Think You Can Dance” or “American Idol”. They are the tropical storms that have or are threatening to make land fall during the
Heads and Tales: Data Loss Demystified for JargonMaster - Part 2
24 July 2007
By Thursday – just two days before Christmas – discs started arriving from CBL. “There was a lot of great stuff on that first batch of DVDs,” Sharwood says. “In fact, they did too good a job: I’d reformatted the drive a couple of months earlier and CBL...
Heads and Tales: Data Loss Demystified for JargonMaster - Part 1
23 July 2007
One Friday afternoon, Simon Sharwood got a lesson in karma.
“I nipped away from my computer to check the cricket score on television,” says the freelance journalist and copywriter and owner of JargonMaster Corporate, a Sydney, Australia-based writing business.
“When I came back, my PC had reverted to DOS mode...
Heads and Tales: PR Firm Turns to CBL to Retrieve Data
19 July 2007
“The day it happened couldn’t have been worse from a timing perspective,” said David Bosworth, a senior public relations consultant with C2E Consulting describing the experience of losing access to all the files on his desktop PC when his four-year-old, 120GB hard drive crashed.
“It was one of the busiest times...
Will the Summer of 2007 Damage Your Data?
29 June 2007
Residents of some cities are already hearing and reading pleas from municipal officials restrict water consumption and to reduce their power consumption and the summer of 2007 is only one week old. Blackouts and brownouts have already occurred as air conditioners and fans are working overtime to keep workers...
Video: The evolution of drives and data recovery
27 June 2007
CBL Data Recovery CEO, Bill Margeson, talks about the evolution of the hard drive, common hard drive failure symptoms and data recovery techniques.
From the set of CH-Morning Live, Hamilton, ON, Canada
Give computers a second life, not the data still on the drives
26 May 2007
Ever wondered what to do to keep your sensitive data from in front of the eyes and out of the hands of others?
CBL Data Recovery’s General Manager, Tim Margeson offers readers of The Globe and Mail advice on what to do with data that still resides on the...
Heads and Tales: CBL Found the File No Other Company Could
10 May 2007
Marianne Richmond, owner of Marianne Richmond Studios in Minneapolis, had almost given up on data recovery specialists when her personal computer’s hard drive failed last year. Nobody could find the only file she desperately wanted — her personal journal for the past 10 years.
Her 500-page journal was crammed...
Heads and Tales: The Digital Journal and the Data Recovery Journey
5 May 2007
Whether your journal is a personal diary, like the one CBL Data Recovery rescued for Marianne Richmond, mother and business owner, when all other companies’ attempts failed, or a popular social-networking site like DigitalJournal.com, data loss can cripple an organization.
Digital Journal shared with its members the ups and...
Backup for Beginners
2 May 2007
External hard drives provide an affordable option for computer users and SOHOs to use to backup data from leading manufacturers like Western Digital and LaCie.
CBL Data Recovery offers six easy backup steps to safeguard your data:
- Identify what information is mission-critical data to you.
- Plug your external...
How Stable is Your RAID?
1 May 2007
Storage is infallible. Or so you may think.
RAID Arrays do fail and through the doors of CBL Data Recovery disks from arrays do pass with increasing frequency.
Manufacturers frequently claim five 9’s availability, but when one of the disks of your RAID Array fails and then...
When the Lease Expires, Does the Data?
30 April 2007
So the lease on your laptop has expired? The guy in IT has advised you that they’ll be collecting the old ones and issuing new ones. So you backup your files and data on CDs, DVDs, or USB thumbdrives as every computer user should on a regular,...
